Sam Williams has been on quite the artistic journey so far in his career, refusing to be pigeon-holed in one genre and displaying a breadth and versatility that many of his contemporaries aren't capable of.
Since the release of his debut album ‘Glasshouse Children‘ in 2021, Williams has pushed the boundaries, being unapologetically himself and showcasing a voice that is dripping in emotion and experience.
In 2024, Williams released ‘Act I: Scarlet Lonesome‘, the first of three collections planned for release. Now he's gearing up for the arrival of ‘Act II: COUNTRYSTAR‘ this summer, and the title track is already generating plenty of conversation due to its sonic departure from the sound people have heard from the singer-songwriter before.
I caught up with Sam recently to find out more about the thought-process behind ‘Act II: COUNTRYSTAR', talk about his ability to shapeshift as an artist, and to discuss his decision to sample his grandfather, Hank Williams…
‘Act II: COUNTRYSTAR' is coming this summer. I remember when we talked about ‘Act I: Scarlet Lonesome' you told me you thought I'd hate this one. I assured you at the time that wouldn't be the case and the good news is, I do not hate ‘Act II'. It's not outside of the realm of what I'd expect from you and there's quite a broad church across the 7 songs. Tell me about putting together this collection…
I think from the get go, I've tried to position myself as versatile and not to be pigeonholed. I came to a point where writing and singing so many sad songs – (I have) a hundred more than actually come out – that's very draining and it is time to show people the different sides of Sam Williams and the different things I can do. It's been really fun. There's always been a pop and fresh side of me that gets to rear his head every now and then, but has never got to get in the driver's seat. This project feels like that Sam is getting in the driver's seat and saying, ‘I hope you're ready. We're going!'
‘Act II' being the middle of the trilogy, it's the top of the roller coaster of emotions that I try to represent in my music. I like to be touched by music and a lot of times it's a touch of confidence in hip- hop and in pop music… a touch of validation and confidence. I'm super grateful that I can hear that in a project of my own now.
‘COUNTRYSTAR', the first track, is out there. The fans are loving it and I've seen all the positive comments. Country music journalists though don't seem to fully get it and they seem desperate to try and pigeonhole you, as if artists are only allowed to make music in one genre their entire career. How do you feel the reaction has been? Was it what you expected?
You never know. I think from my fans and people learning about me, the reception has been extremely positive. I think that people are starting to grasp that I've got different sounds, and that's not going to be okay with everyone and that's fine. I think that I'm an evolution kind of artist and I'm an album kind of artist. There's always a direction, that just may not be for everyone, and that's all right. It's me taking the first step. I think I've laid the groundwork throughout my career, different lanes that I can tap into. I really have to say that it's been super inspiring and transformative to really command my presence in a writing room. I write the majority of all my lyrics, really I do, and there's a freedom of expression in writing on beat and rapping that is still super me, but completely different than writing a song like ‘Glasshouse Children'. But you can touch in the same pain.
That was something that I wanted to do in ‘COUNTRYSTAR'; how do I portray confidence in this and also remain true to me? I'm not gonna write something that's not true and sing it. There's faking it till you make it and talking about materialistic kind of things, but anything that has to do with real life, I'm not going to lie about. I'm really proud of it… that it's a banger and it's fun. I'm saying a lot of stuff that maybe I haven't been confident enough to say (before)
‘COUNTRYSTAR' is probably the boldest and most different song on the collection. There's still a lot to unpack with the other six though. I really feel like ‘Daydream' is a sequel to ‘American Actress' from ‘Act I'. Is that the case?
‘Daydream' is actually a song I wrote around the exact same time as ‘Scarlet Lonesome' and ‘Runaway' and ‘Siren Song'. It was written in that place. ‘Daydream' is (part of) ‘COUNTRYSTAR', it's just a light side. I think that ‘Daydream' is fantasy and I tend to live there sometimes (laughs) . It's a fun place to imagine from. ‘Daydream' has a desperation to it that's nonchalant, but the feeling is so true; you want to be somebody's everything. For me, that's the fantasy world I can be in a lot of a time. It could be a fairy tale. You make things like ‘Daydream' because you want that to happen and it definitely is in the same vein as ‘ American Actress' in the way that there's just a blatantness to it. The first word s of ‘Daydream' are, ‘when your eyes are closed, I wonder where you go. I hope that I'm there. And if the answer is no, were you going to let me know?' I wanted to make the sonics of that song seem like a dreamscape.
Lyrically for me, ‘I Killed a Man in Tennessee' is the song that I found most interesting because the title makes you expect one kind of song but when you hear it, it's a complete surprise. It's lyrically very clever…
I'm just a weird crazy little genius. I guess that ‘I Killed a Man in Tennessee' on a Parker McCollum album would sound a little bit different. I think that in my music, it's really important to walk the line between light and dark and there's a lot of that within ‘Act II' and the whole trilogy. I see ‘I Killed a Man in Tennessee' as a reckless but graceful way of saying goodbye to yourself. It's kind of an accountability in a way of everything before now got me where I am today, and at the same time, there's a version of myself that can't go on from here, but thank you for everything. I wanted to use anecdotes. That's where I'm most comfortable writing from is just my life perspective.
The song on this collection that is going to draw the most attention is ‘HONKYTONKIN'. You've never shied away from your family lineage but you've also never used it to further yourself either. Why did you decide that you wanted to sample your grandfather on this track?
‘HONKYTONKIN' is a riot. Other than my covers of ‘Weatherman' and “I'm So Lonesome”, I've tried not to (go near) my family's music because it's been so important to me to make a name for myself on my own merit. I wouldn't want to chase a sound that's not mine. I'm trying to drive on a new road. I don't do a lot of sampling or interpolating but I really love the craft of it. I just had the idea of one day. I could get the clearance. What's so funny about ‘HONKYTONKIN' is it's probably the most rewritten, reworked on song I've ever made. The first version of it had a Beyonce shout out in it. It was much different. I think it's really neat and important at the same time. It's special to me. It's a different reinvention than I did of “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”. That was me reinventing the song in a way that I felt hadn't been done.
‘HONKYTONKIN' is more like a pass the baton. (I thought) what would that song sound like if it was made now? I made an entire ly different song and just used that tag. It's so fun. ‘Act II' is the pieces of me and the pieces of my DNA, that obviously I'm not going to be able to get away from, but also the 2000s kid in me and the dreamer and the party. I think it's just such a fun departure from the music I'm known for. When all three acts are out, all will be understood. I absolutely can't wait for ‘HONKYTONKIN' to be out and mixed reactions are expected. If anybody needs to be making a record like that, it needs to be Sam Williams.
When we talked about ‘Act I' , you gave me a tease about ‘Act II'. Now we're talking about ‘Act II' can you give me any teasers about ‘Act III'?
What did I say about ‘Act II'?
You told me I would probably hate it, which I don't. You said it was very different and you that it was going be more influenced by hip hop, R&B and different influences.
Were you surprised by the way that the sounds blend together?
I wouldn't say I was surprised. I feel like I've got quite a good handle on you, because we've met a few times and spoken quite a lot over the years. We've talked about a whole range of things, from country music to Nicki Minaj and everything in between so I'm not wholly surprised. You previewed some of the songs off ‘Act II' when you played in London last year and I said to you that even though the influences are different, this music is still in the realm of what I'd expect from you. You've got that gift of having voice that is versatile. You could sing the phone book and I would want to go buy it and listen to it. Being able to sing anything is very rare. Whatever you do will always sound like you and it will always sound like something you should be doing because it's authentic.
That is so kind. I think that creating is trial and error but when you're tracking, you're tracking. I had a period of writing ‘COUNTRYSTAR', ‘Fugitive' and ‘I Killed a Man in Tennessee' where I was in a headspace to take a few masks away. I think reinvention is one of the most important parts of being an artist.
What you've done so successfully, that a lot of artists don't get right, is you haven't come in and gone, ‘right, I'm a rapper now' and completely changed everything about you to present this completely different person. The way you're presenting it feels natural. It feels like what we know about you. It doesn't feel like it's false. It doesn't feel like you're trying something on so that's why I think it feels authentic and it works…
Well, I still feel like I'm not open enough, Pip. I think I'm more open in my music than almost anyone, even if I'm not on a huge level right now. I'm open and I'm real in my music but sometimes with everything else, I'm not and I'm a little bit more guarded. I think I need to get on a live right after this and explain a little bit of what my music is, because I'm kind of just like cooking. I'm pouring all my spices in, and I'm gonna pour in this 2009 Rihanna song, and then I'm also gonna talk about some reference to something I really liked when I was little, or something like that. I get my final dish prepared and just kind of serve it and don't always give the recipe and the ingredients. I think that's just as important. This project is cracking me open a bit too to everyone and it's me doubling down. It's doubling down on the notion that I've tried to put across, that I won't be pigeonholed or boxed into one sound or bullied out of the game by anybody. It's a double down of I'm Sam Williams and I'm great at whatever I do and that's how it is.
That's exactly what you should be doing. I don't get excited by a lot of the music that lands in my inbox these days but anything from you I know it's going to be interesting so I want to hear it…
That is so great. It makes me feel happy. Sometimes I don't know if I have any idea what I'm doing and sometimes I think cards are stacked against me. I have a crazy brain, a pen and notebook.
That's all you need. So going back to that ‘Act III' question. You've gotta give me something to go on…
Um… (thinks) I see ‘Act III' as a warm light. I think it's an acceptance of the relationship between light and dark that you see throughout the first two acts, and my music in general. It's definitely not reserved, but it's not as confident. It's more accepting in the fact that all stories don't have a happy ending.
Sam Williams new collection ‘Act II: COUNTRYSTAR' will be released on 11th July 2025 and you can pre-save it now. The title track ‘COUNTRYSTAR' is available to stream and download now.
